Bob Dinneen Energizes Ethanol Industry at FEW
He preached a powerful sermon this morning. He’s the Reverend of Renewable Fuels. He’s Bob Dinneen, CEO, RFA. Bob was on our program at the opening general session of the Fuel Ethanol Workshop. This is the 25th FEW and Bob has attended 21 of them now!
As always, Bob provided a very positive outlook by starting out looking at the industry’s accomplishments in the last year.
“Look at last year – in the face of a deepening economic downturn, negative 3% growth and rising unemployment, the U.S. ethanol industry grew by 34%, 0pening 31 new plants and adding an additional 240,000 new jobs!
We produced more ethanol last year than ever before, some 9 billion gallons, and we added new markets in the southeast and northwest where the RFA had worked with the oil industry and state governments to tear down regulatory barriers to blending.
As our industry grows, we are transforming our nation’s motor fuel market, and we are transforming the rural landscape of America.”
Bob touches on carbon, critics, food vs. fuel, land use, market expansion and cellulosic. He concluded by saying:
“We may have troubles, but we in the ethanol industry have a great story to tell, a compelling case to make, new opportunities to seize, and new markets to win over.
Don’t let anybody tell you that the ethanol industry is somehow responsible for despoiling rainforests and increasing carbon. We are the only way gasoline refiners can lower the carbon footprint of their product today.
Don’t let anyone tell you ethanol is a government boondoggle, we are creating new hope, new markets for farm products, new jobs for willing workers and new opportunities for entrepreneurship in communities where people need new pathways to a better life.
Don’t let anybody tell you that the world must choose between food and fuel. Our industry is helping humanity to achieve its historic dream of an affordable, and sustainable, abundance of all the necessities of life.
And don’t let anybody tell you that cellulosic ethanol is somebody’s pipe dream. It is as real as the people in this room.
If we stick together, do our work well, and stay focused on the future, our potential is unlimited – in the near-term, the long-term, and as far as our eyes can see and our minds can imagine.
Thank you all for listening, and for the honor of being one of you.
2009 Fuel Ethanol Workshop Photo Album
You can listen to Bob’s speech below:
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (12.4MB)
4 Comments
Marty Dalrymple
A question for Mr. Dineen: You say the U.S. ethanol industry grew by 34% last year. That’s true, but isn’t that “growth” only a result of the mandate in the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007? If that mandate wasn’t in place, and ethanol had to compete on nothing more than its intrinsic value, what would have happened?
peabody09
Marty, think about what the ethanol producers have to deal with. They have to sell their product to blenders totally controlled by the Big Oil companies. Big Oil wants to protect their turf, so they’ll do anything to keep ethanol out of their market and have the perfect opportunity to do this via their control over the distribution system all the way to the retailer. How are ethanol producers going to be able to compete without some sort of intervention into this virtually monopoly. Ethanol is not perfect, but it keeps getting more efficient and more environmentally friendly, which replacing imported oil.
Bob Dinneen
Marty, it’s true that last year, as gasoline prices plummeted, the RFS was driving demand for ethanol. But previously, when gasoline prices were skyrocketing, gasoline marketers and consumers were pining for as much ethanol as they could find. Indeed, the reason Congress expanded the RFS is that the ethanol industry was producing far more than the original RFS required and gasoline marketers were looking for more. We’re watching gasoline creep up again, and we all know we’re going to see higher prices still, when that happens, you’ll see how the “intrinsic” value of ethanol drives demand well beyond the RFS levels. That’s as it should be … the RFS is providing a floor to encourage investment. Consumers will drive demand if artificial constraints to blending are removed.
But, Marty, I’ve got a question for you … haven’t we had a mandate for gasoline long enough? Do you really want to keep paying Hugo Chavez and OPEC for their oil – risking our economy and our environment? What’s your solution?
flee
I’ve been burning higher concentrations of E-85 in my non flex fuel vehicles. No problems. The engine starts and runs the same only with cleaner plugs and oil. I’m almost to pure E-85 and haven’t changed a thing on engine. My mpg drop a little, going from 23 to 20, but the fuel cost dropped from $2.78 to as low as $2.12. The engine does have more power.
My friend runs E-85 in his lawnmower and chainsaw. He switched to synthetic oil containing castor oil as the regular 2 cycle oil didn’t mix well. The vegetable oils have better lubrication qualities and works well with ethanol. Race engines have utilized castor oil for best in class performance, historically. So, since the vegetable oils better for environment would the marine engines be better off burning pure ethanol? And two cycle outboards utilize vegetable oil?
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